August 10 – Watermelons & Hypocrites

So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:28 ESV)

Watermelons are really good when they are ripe. They are slightly crisp and super sweet. But if a watermelon sits for too long some really bad things start to happen inside. All of that crispy sweetness turns into a mushy muck. In spite of the seemingly normal outward appearance the inside is just all wrong.

People are like that too. Unfortunately, people claiming to follow Christ can be some of the worst. We often appear to have it all together on the outside while dying inside. Whether it is secret sin, unrepentant desires, or habitually inconsistent actions—our internal and external lives are so often mismatched, and that is a problem.

Jesus preached a very strong message targeted at this kind of living. Why? Because God wants a better existence for His people than the negligently oblivious life hypocrisy can lead to. We matter to Him, and so does everyone else, but sometimes our hypocrisy becomes a distraction to the unbeliever struggling to find faith.

Evaluation, honesty, and good friends can go a long way in disarming or overcoming hypocrisy. Take a good look at your life, ask an honest friend, and pray about the results. We will never achieve perfection in this life, but that doesn’t mean we have to embrace a continual pattern of unrepentant sin. And we certainly need to stop pretending like we are perfect when we are so far from it.